© Getty Images / AOP.Press/CorbisTelegram founder Pavel Durov.
The Russian-born billionaire has long portrayed Telegram as an outpost for free speech and privacy, contrasting it with what he describes as authoritarian censorship efforts by Western governments.
"Our generation is running out of time to save the free Internet built for us by our fathers," Durov said in a statement on Telegram on Friday, marking his 41st birthday.
"What was once the promise of the free exchange of information is being turned into the ultimate tool of control," he added, noting that nations once considered free are adopting authoritarian digital practices. He cited measures such as digital IDs in the UK, compulsory online age verification in Australia, and the mass scanning of private messages in the EU.
Durov said people have been misled by the West into believing that their mission is to dismantle traditional values - privacy, sovereignty, free markets, and free speech - and by doing so, society has embarked on a path of "self-destruction."
"A dark, dystopian world is approaching fast - while we're asleep. Our generation risks going down in history as the last one that had freedoms - and allowed them to be taken away... We are running out of time," he said.
Durov has long clashed with Western governments over Telegram's policies, facing fines in Germany for not removing 'illegal' content and criticism in the US for allegedly enabling extremist groups.
Last year, he was arrested in Paris and charged with complicity in crimes linked to Telegram users, but was released on bail. He called the case politically motivated. He later accused French intelligence of pressuring him to censor conservative content during elections in Romania and Moldova, and condemned France for waging "a crusade" against free speech.
Durov has also warned that EU laws such as the Digital Services Act and the AI Act are paving the way for the centralized control of information.
Last week, Durov reaffirmed that Telegram would never submit to political censorship, saying, "I'd rather die in jail than betray what this platform stands for."
Comment: Good on Durov for sticking with his vision for Telegram. However it may be too little too late to stop or reverse the governments' desire for total control.